Dreams
by Blue Rose 01
Summary: Hidden behind the excuse to pursue her dreams, Sakura ends her relationship with Uchiha Itachi. Non-massacre ItaSaku, ItaxSaku. 50-shinobi Theme No 18: Dreams.


**Dreams**

_Summary: Hidden behind the excuse to pursue her dreams, Sakura ends her relationship with Uchiha Itachi. Non-massacre ItaSaku, ItaxSaku. 50-shinobi Theme No 18: Dreams._

_Enjoy (:_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters._

_-_

Sakura is jolted awake from her not-so-peaceful slumber one night from the sound of a doorbell. She sighs and tries to ignore it, though whoever it is just won't let her. The doorbell rings incessantly until finally, Sakura hauls herself from her bed, though not without a disgruntled groan. She drags herself to the front door and opens it, to find her heart's sister, Yamanka Ino standing in her doorway. Sakura blinks blankly before letting her friend in.

"Ino, do you have any idea what time it is?" Sakura asks grumpily as they make their way to the dining area and sit down at the table. The pink-haired medic-nin is by no means a morning person, especially at ungodly hours of the morning such as this. "It's five in the morning," she informs the blonde, "This had better be important."

"This is, Forehead. I've been worried about you. To be honest, you look like shit." Sakura wastes no time reminding her that she was just pulled from her warm bed at five am and that she has every right to look like this. Ino simply rolls her eyes. "Not just now, but all the time. For the Hokage's prized apprentice, you sure don't know how to take care of yourself. You're losing weight, it looks like you haven't slept in ages, and you're pale as a ghost. I know I've asked you before, Forehead, but, are you really okay?"

Sakura's previously irritated eyes immediately warm at her friend's concern. No, she hadn't been taking very good care of herself recently, but she never imagined that it had caused others to worry about her. A wave of guilt suddenly washes through her at the idea that Ino was kept up this late, simply worrying about her. "Thanks for the concern, Ino," she says genuinely, "but I'm fine, really."

The blonde's narrows her eyes suspiciously at her friend. "Is this about Itachi?"

-

Uchiha Itachi, who had been outside Sakura's window, furrows his eyes in displeasure at what he hears.

He'd just gotten back from a long mission, nearly two months long, and he went straight to Sakura's apartment upon returning with the intention of clearing the air between them. Sakura had been upset when he left, but he had to leave right away and didn't get the chance to talk to her before his departure.

-_Flashback-_

_Sakura sits anxiously at her kitchen table, mind filled with troubling thoughts._

_The Uchiha clan elders had called on her to speak with her. They had discreetly, subtly implied that because Itachi is the Clan heir and has a high position, Sakura is just not 'good enough', for lack of a better word, for him. The elders have already selected a suitable wife who has been trained since birth and taught the ways of the Uchiha Matriarch. They had _convinced _her that it would be better, not only for Itachi, but the entire Uchiha clan as well, if she were to part with him._

_A large part of Sakura agrees with the elders' logic; she is simply not suitable as the clan heir's wife. However, that doesn't stop her from feeling inescapably bitter at the idea of Itachi marrying another woman and father her children. Even still, she knows this is probably better, at least now, she'll be able to live out her dream of being in the ANBU, she tells herself. If Itachi asks for a reason, she can tell him that she just can't live tied down as she would have to in the Uchiha Compound. This dream doesn't seem feasible anymore though, because she would undoubtedly encounter Itachi if she were to make it into the ranks, and she doesn't know if she would be able to face him anymore after this._

_Sakura is pulled from her troubled mind at the sound of a chair being pulled out and she looks up to see Itachi sitting down with practiced grace._

_"Itachi," she smiles ruefully._

_He simply nods his greeting. Itachi cocks his head to side slightly as he examines the petite kunoichi in front of him. He can't help but see that she's slightly paler than he's used to seeing, and she's clearly anxious about something. She had asked to talk to him, which he had believed to be rather convenient timing because he's leaving on a long-term mission and he'd been meaning to tell her for some time but hadn't gotten he chance to. However, observing her now, he contemplates whether it would be okay to tell her now. Based on her uneasy and troubled expressions, he believes that whatever she has to tell him is not good, and he doesn't want to leave her when things are not good between them. _

_Sakura looks away from his piercing gaze. "I…um…I've been meaning to say…" she trails off uneasily, trying to find a way to say it._

_"What is it?" Itachi asks softly, now starting to become slightly wary of what it is Sakura is trying to say._

_"Well, we've been going steady for a while and just the other week, we were talking about moving in together," Sakura says in a slightly rushed tone, "and I assume we'd have to move into the compound so I've been doing some thinking and stuff and I kind of like living here in my apartment but that's not really possible is it?" She continues in a single breath. "You know there's so much I still want to do and I probably wouldn't be able to do much of that so--"_

_"What is it you wish to say, Sakura?"_

_She takes a deep breath, preparing to tell the person she loves—though she's never said that to him before, she knows that she does—that she doesn't think they should be together anymore. _

_"I think that…it would be better if we ended this relationship, Itachi. It was doomed from the start, and I don't know what we were thinking when we thought we could make it work. Plus, I really wanted to live out my dream of being in the ANBU, working in the hospital as head medic, and I don't think I could continue my dreams if I were to live in the compound…permanently. So—"_

_"Sakura," he cuts off her rant. Her 'confession' had caught him unawares and he simply does not know what to say in this situation. He'd always believed that they would get married and start their own family one day, so he has never found the need to formulate a reply to a statement such as this. He has become fiercely protective of her and had decided long ago that he would not part with her, ever. She's become such a natural and crucial part of his life that being without her sounds more than a little foreign and unwelcome. But on the other hand, she has a right to want to live out her own dreams which, as she had said, would be difficult, though he could probably speak to the elders about that. But perhaps it isn't just her dreams she wants to protect; perhaps she is afraid of losing her freedom and independence. Itachi has never been overbearing, but if she decides to live with him in the compound as his wife, she will undoubtedly have some responsibilities. "How long have you been thinking this way?"_

_"I don't know…a while, I guess, but not long…" Itachi looks at her, perplexed by her uncharacteristically vague reply. However, they are interrupted by an abrupt knock at her door._

"Taichou, we have to leave now," _a muffled voice comes from her door._

_"Where are you going?" Sakura asks._

_Itachi sighs inaudibly, "I have a mission. I will be gone for a long period of time. We will talk when I return."_

_"There's…nothing to talk about, I've said what I wanted to…" she says weakly. She doesn't know if she'll be able to face him after this, without breaking down into sorry tears, especially not after she's been given a long period of time to agonize about her choice._

_"Perhaps, but I have not." And with that, he disappears in a whirl of ashes._

_-End Flashback-_-

He was just about to go inside when he heard the doorbell ring and Sakura getting up to answer. He had decided not to intrude upon their privacy, but after what he had just heard, he decides that perhaps it would be most beneficial to stay and listen to what Sakura had to say.

"What?" he hears his petite kunoichi ask incredulously, "No, not at all. What makes you say that?"

-

Ino stares disbelievingly at her best friend, "I don't know the details, but I heard that you two weren't on very good terms when he left."

Sakura sighs in defeat, blinking slowly before meeting her blonde friend's gaze. "I'm just tired, Ino, that's all."

Ino immediately understands her meaning. She's tired of dealing with the complicated Uchiha. She's never known him very well, but she can tell he must be tiring to deal with, though she's never known Sakura to give up on something simply because it took a bit of effort.

Itachi chooses this moment to flicker into Sakura's kitchen, causing his petite mate's eyes to widen into saucers.

He observes her intently and sees that everything the Yamanka girl had previously described was indeed true, only worse. The beauty that Itachi remembers his pinkette to be seems to have been reduced to, literally, a walking zombie. He can't help but feel entirely responsible for her alarming disregard for her health.

"Speak of the devil," Sakura distantly hears Ino mutter. "I'll take my leave then; see you tomorrow, Forehead, Uchiha-san." She lets herself out, leaving Sakura alone with the one man she really doesn't want to be around right now.

These past two months have been incredibly trying and she's exhausted, not only emotionally, but physically as well. She'd taken more than her fair share of shifts at the hospital to distract herself from the growing pain that was her heart. It just happened to work out that the hospital had a recent influx of patients and her extra work was very much appreciated.

"Sakura," Itachi regards her in a soft tone that is reserved only for her.

She blinks, forcing herself to meet his gaze. Only then does she realize the various injuries inflicted on his person. He is dangerously pale, from blood loss she assumes, and has a particularly gruesome wound on his left shoulder from what looks to be a katana. There are other, more superficial wounds on him, but those would be easier to fix.

"Itachi, what happened?!" She pushes her previous shock and discomfort aside to make way for her gentle, mothering, medic nature. She ushers him into the living room where he is seated on the comfortable sofa. She urges him, with a slight blush, to remove his vest, armguards, and shirt so she can see to his wounds properly, and Itachi notices that she's deliberately avoiding his gaze. He wants to ask her why she's acting this way and why she'd said the words she said that night two months ago, but decides that until he has her full attention—and she is not fussing over his injuries—he will not bring such matters up. Instead, he simply watches her work and waits until she finishes.

When she finally does, she sits down on the opposite end of the couch and still refuses to meet his gaze. Unsurprisingly, this does not sit well with the Uchiha and he easily moves closer to her and watches her as she fiddles anxiously, looking like she would rather be _anywhere _but here.

"Sakura," Itachi calls, urging her to look at him. Eventually, she meets his gaze hesitantly, her usual kick-ass personality, which Itachi has always found rather intriguing, strangely absent.

"Erm…"

"You do not look well," he tells her.

"I've just been a bit tired. Um, since I've treated your injuries already, maybe you should leave; I'm sure you're tired from your mission and you really need to rest." Itachi forces back a frown at her attempt to push him away; unfortunately for her, he's stubborn enough to stay until he gets what he came for.

"You are avoiding me. Why is that?"

"I already told you before you left, Itachi, I just think it would be better if we saw different people," she says, though somewhat weakly.

"Is this about the clan elders? Sasuke informed me some time ago that he overheard them discussing matters concerning you."

"No…it's not—"

"I assume they told you that you are unsuitable to live in the compound," he cuts her off easily.

She refuses to admit that to him, because it would simply sound like a cry for attention, for him to take pity on her and stand up for her against the clan, which is embarrassingly needy and, for lack of a better word, lame. Besides, she knows that if she does confirm his suspicion, he undoubtedly will do the aforementioned things, which means that he would indeed marry her, an unsuitable woman for the clan. She doesn't want to burden or bring him down, if nothing else, so she will remain firm in her denial. Perhaps she should try a different method in discouraging this particular conversation. "Is that what you think, Itachi?" she asks in a tone that, she hopes, sounds mildly hurt.

"Of course not, you are a headstrong kunoichi who can adapt to anything, within reason, should you choose to set your mind on it." He says this confidently, with an air of finality, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and the fact that he believes so strongly in her makes her blush…and hurt so badly that she's can't be with him.

"Thank you for your kind words, Uchiha-san," he notices that she's gone back to using her surname, which causes a slight pang of discomfort in him.

"Why are you so determined to leave me, Sakura? Have you finally grown tired of me?" Itachi finally asks, his tone sounding more tired than she's ever heard. She looks at into his onyx eyes and realizes that, though he may put up a good pretense, he is deeply affected by her actions. This only serves to make her feel more guilty and miserable than she already was before he came.

His defeated tone, which is more than extremely rare, does its part to pull the truth from her; no matter how needy it may sound, she can't lie to Itachi. "Because there are other more suitable women for you," she says quietly, her gaze dropping to her fiddling fingers.

They sit in silence for a few moments before Itachi lifts Sakura's chin so she'd look at him. "Is that what you think, Sakura?" he uses her own words, though his tone is soft and gentle, unlike the hurt tone she had used earlier. Sakura simply nods. "I will make one thing clear; if I do not marry you, then I do not plan to marry at all. I am not saying I want to get married now, but in the future, I plan to make you my bride and mother of my children." Sakura's eyes widen and a light blush tints her pale cheeks at his bold and sure declaration.

"Itachi—mmph!" Sakura doesn't get the chance to say what she was going to, for her mouth is suddenly occupied. Itachi gently moves his lips against her unmoving ones, slowly tracing the seam of her mouth with his tongue as he wraps and his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him. She grants him entry easily enough as she slowly reciprocates his actions, linking her arms behind his neck. The kiss is slow and languorous, though not without passion, as the two reacquaint themselves with the other. After two long months, they had missed each other more than thought possible, and with the added strain on their relationship, they are more than happy to slowly enjoy their time together. Itachi explores his petite kunoichi's warm cavern, causing her to sigh contentedly into his mouth. Her own muscle shyly meets his as they play with each other. When they finally part, Itachi pulls Sakura to his chest and he leans back on the cozy couch, pulling her back with him as he absently strokes her hair, something, she's noticed over time, he's quite obsessed with and something he's missed more than he cares to admit over the span of his absence.

"No matter what the clan elders may say or think, I am going to make you my wife one day, so they will simply have to accept it," Itachi tells her.

"I told you, it wasn't—"

"You are not a very good liar, Sakura," he cuts her off once more.

She sighs, clearly defeated. "No, I'm not, am I?" She rests her head tiredly on Itachi's shoulder. She doesn't know where they will go from here, but she decides to trust Itachi, he's never failed her before. "Welcome back," she murmurs, already half-asleep.

Itachi lets out a small smile, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I'm home."

-

A/N:

_Thank you for reading!  
_

Well, I decided to take the 50-themed shinobi challenge, and this is theme number 18 – Dreams. I apologize for Itachi's slight OOC-ness. I realize that the ending wasn't as closed as it should be, and there are still a lot of possible endings, but I was thinking of making some of the challenge themes connected via sequel/prequel.

_Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are highly appreciated :D_

~Ja!


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